A great new concrete skatepark built by Airspeed in the small mountain town of Nederland, CO (near Boulder) opened a few months ago, but I had no idea how cool the backstory of the Nathan Lazarus Skatepark was until reading about the Tony Hawk/Birdhouse demo and Grand Opening festivities scheduled there for this Saturday, May 30.

The story of the Nathan Lazarus Skatepark is a true grassroots effort, my favorite kind: In 2003 the city agreed to provide land for the project, and nearly everything else leading to the $500,000 5-year project came thanks to the work of a youth-driven nonprofit and a commited group of skaters and volunteers under the umbrella of a group they established, called NEDSK8. The group went to work at the tedious process of applying for grants to get it done, with the biggest chunk coming from Great Outdoors Colorado, and funds from

Tony Hawk's appearance at the park this weekend is more than symbolic: The Tony Hawk Foundation ponied up a grant of $25,000 early on in the fundraising process, then sweetened the deal with an additional $50,000 to have the park named after Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? star Nathan Lazarus, whom Hawk credits with raising a huge amount of money and publicity for the foundation after their appearance together on the show.

In Colorado this weekend? Click here for a full lineup of fundraisers and grand opening festivities at Lazarus Skatepark. On Friday, Lazarus and other 5th graders will compete at his elementary school in a format based on the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? TV show. On Saturday, Tony Hawk and Birdhouse skaters Shaun Gregoire, Alan Young, Geth Noble, Jason Mitchell, Alex Brunelle, Ric Widenor, Brandon Arceo, and Cailin Lee will skate a demo at the park, followed by skate competition with a $50 entry fee going to further support the park. On Sunday, the weekend concludes with a mellower $15 amateur contest with 12 and under, 17 and under, 18 and up, and girls divisions, featuring live music sets in between contests.

The Airspeed folks also built the skateparks in Aspen, CO and Montrose, CO, as well as at least 10 great parks in Oregon and a bunch of other across the country and in far-flung places like Ireland and South Africa. This one's just about as good as they come. Come check it out, and then go back home and get to work: If Nederland, CO can get a world-class skatepark, than so can your town. It took them 5 years, a whole ton of volunteer hours, and a lot of organization – and getting Tony Hawk on board didn't hurt – but it helps show how much is possible when a group of skaters put their mind to getting what they need.
Click here to see a full list of supporters who helped make this project possible.